Zhang Fengqi was puzzled when he heard this: "Why did the Ministry of War card your appointment?" How did you offend them? ”

Yang He sighed and said, "I want to protect Xiong Tingbi, and I have offended some people by doing something." ”

Zhang Fengqi shook his head and sighed: "Brother, with your intelligence, you should be able to see that Xiong Tingbi is not so easy to protect." ”

Yang He smiled bitterly: "That's why I want to protect Wang Huazhen together." ”

At that moment, Yang He told him how he met Liu Qi and others.

Zhang Fengqi shook his head and said, "Do you think that as long as Wang Huazhen is fine, Xiong Tingbi will be fine, right?" ”

Sighing softly, Zhang Fengqi continued: "At the time, things are not as simple as you think, Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi are not something you can get out of with an excuse, you must know that Xiong Tingbi is the Chu Party, and the Donglin Party will not care about a Wang Huazhen in order to suppress the Chu Party." ”

Yang He smiled bitterly: "I really think about this matter simply, I thought that finding an excuse for Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi, and then helping them find someone who carried the black pot, would allow them to get out." ”

Zhang Fengqi shook his head and said: "I said something unpleasant, even if you help Wang Huazhen and Xiong Tingbi find 10,000 reasons, and find countless people to help them carry the black pot, but as long as the Donglin Party gang catches Xiong Tingbi and loses Liaodong, Xiong Tingbi will not be able to turn over." Of course, Wang Huazhen will definitely accompany the funeral. ”

Yang He nodded and sighed softly.

Zhang Fengqi said: "At the right time, although we have known each other for a short time, I can see that you are an ambitious person, and your means and resourcefulness are far beyond the reach of others." But with your current status, it will be very difficult to achieve your ambitions. ”

Yang He couldn't help but be silent when he heard this.

Zhang Fengqi continued: "When the time comes, we are different, even if I don't have big political achievements, as long as I boil slowly, I can get through the qualifications."

And you are different. You're a person who wants to do things, you can't take it slow like I do. Therefore, if you want to achieve your ambitions as soon as possible, you have to find someone who can really help you, and find a backstage who is willing to support you in doing things.

This person is definitely not Liu Qi, although Liu Qi is the imperial history. can speak in the court, but his ability is still poor, and Liu Qi is mainly selfish to help you.

In my opinion, this person who can help you is Yuan Keli, don't look at Lord Yuan does not belong to any faction, but Lord Yuan is the leader of the clear stream, and in terms of appeal, he is far from being comparable to the leaders of those factions.

You look at Lord Yuan's strategy, no one dares to say that Lord Yuan's strategy is wrong. If it is a different person, I am afraid that it will be refuted by others immediately, even if the first auxiliary leaf is high, I am afraid it will not be so smooth.

Brother Ying Shixian, you can be valued by Lord Yuan, this opportunity must not be missed! You are afraid that you will attract criticism from others when you meet with Lord Yuan, with all due respect, Lord Yuan is not afraid. What are you afraid of? ”

Yang He nodded silently when he heard this.

After thinking about it, Yang He smiled and said, "What Brother Long Chuan said is reasonable. Then I'll go to Beijing to meet Master Yuan. ”

"That's exactly how it should be." Zhang Fengqi said with a smile.

Yang He turned his head to the soldier and said, "You wait a while, I will arrange the affairs of the family and follow you into Beijing." ”

The soldier hurried to answer.

Immediately, Yang He asked Zhang Fengqi to settle the soldiers, and then returned to the new barracks with Ding Wuwei and Wang Weiguo.

Back in the new barracks, Yang He summoned the instructors, divided them into several teams, and ordered them to go to the homes of the gentry. He also instructed them not to slack off their daily training and study, and then hurried back to Xiangshan.

After explaining to Sun Defu, Yang He hurriedly returned to the county office, and then rushed to the capital with the soldiers.

Two days later, Yang He rushed to the capital. Before he could observe the characters in the capital, the soldier took Yang He to Xu Guangqi's mansion.

Xu Guangqi exchanged pleasantries with Yang He, and then took Yang He to Yuan Keli's house.

Yuan Keli's house is not big, only once he enters the courtyard, Yang He couldn't help but be surprised, and asked Xu Guangqi to find out that Yuan Keli only brought a few old servants to Beijing to take up his post after his recovery, and his family members stayed in his hometown in Suizhou, Henan.

Xu Guangqi was a frequent visitor to Yuan Keli's house, and when his subordinates saw Xu Guangqi coming, they directly introduced Xu Guangqi into the living room.

Entering the living room, Yang He carefully looked at the furnishings in the room.

The furnishings of this living room are very simple, with only a table with a chair on each side of the table, and a calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall behind the table.

After the subordinate introduced Xu Guangqi into the living room, he first invited Xu Guangqi to sit in the guest seat, and then moved a chair to the next room for Yang He to sit on, and then went to Yuan Keli.

After a while, an old man slowly walked into the living room, and Xu Guangqi hurriedly got up and arched his hand when he saw it, "Didn't you disturb Brother Liqing?" ”

Yuan Keli returned the salute with a smile, then looked at Yang He and said, "This is your new student, right?" ”

Xu Guangqi nodded with a smile and said to Yang He, "Don't you want to see Lord Yuan?" ”

Yang He hurriedly bowed and said, "Student Yang He, meet Master Yuan." ”

Yuan Keli looked at Yang He for a while, smiled and nodded: "No need to be polite." Have a seat. ”

"Thank you, Lord Yuan." Yang He said busily.

Standing up straight, Yang He looked at Yuan Keli carefully.

Yuan Keli is about sixty years old, with a clear appearance, kind eyes, and a straight man like an elder, Yang He really can't see that the person in front of him is the iron-faced selfless, upright, and directly reprimanded the emperor's iron-faced imperial history above the court.

Yuan Keli walked to the main seat and sat down, then waved his hand to invite Xu Guangqi to take a seat, seeing Yang He standing still, Yuan Keli smiled at Xu Guangqi and said, "Brother Zixian, didn't you tell this student about our relationship?" ”

Xu Guangqi smiled and said to Yang He: "As a teacher and Brother Liqing, you don't need to be restrained when you come here." ”

"Yes, sir." Yang He said busily.

Xu Guangqi waved his hand, pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Sit down." ”

Yang He nodded, arched his hand at Yuan Keli, confessed his guilt, and sat down.

Yuan Keli said with a smile: "Brother Zi told the old man that you have just started to read and write, and seeing that you know etiquette so well, it is not quite the same. ”

Yang He said with a smile: "This is what the students learned from others before they entered Beijing. ”

Yuan Keli couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

At this time, the subordinate brought tea, Yuan Keli picked up a teacup, and made a gesture of invitation to Xu Guangqi and Yang He, Yang He took the teacup and put it on the table next to him.

Seeing that Yang He didn't drink tea, Yuan Keli smiled and said, "Let's drink tea while we are drinking." While chatting, you don't have to be formal. ”

"Yes." Yang He said busily.

Yuan Keli took a sip of tea, put the teacup on the table, then looked at Yang He and said with a smile: "Tell the old man, why didn't you enter Beijing last time?" ”

Yang He said with a smile: "Master Yuan is the chief examiner of the current examination, and students are afraid of entering Beijing rashly. Inconvenience to adults. ”

Yuan Keli smiled: "You think too much, the old man is not afraid of shadows, and there are not so many taboos." ”

"Yes, the student is too careful." Yang He said busily.

Yuan Keli smiled: "Have you read the old man's strategy?" What are your thoughts? ”

Yang He didn't expect Yuan Keli to get straight to the point without greeting Xu Guangqi, and after thinking about it, Yang He said: "Lord Yuan's seven strategies can be said to be to the point, if the imperial court can handle it accordingly, as the adults said in the strategy, China can sit back and relax." ”

Yuan Keli waved his hand: "The old man doesn't want to hear this." The old man is asking what you think. ”

Yang He muttered: "Lord Yuan, please forgive the boy, the student thinks that the adult's strategy can only improve the current situation, if you want to completely defeat Jianyu, I am afraid it is far from enough." ”

"Then tell me, how can we defeat Jianyu completely?" Yuan Keli said with a smile.

Yang He said: "If you want to defeat Jianyu, you must first analyze the current situation of Daming, and then find out the problems of Daming. Only by solving these problems can we defeat Jianyu. ”

"Oh? So what is the current situation of Daming? Yuan Keli said with a smile.

"If the student is not right. I hope adults don't blame you. Yang He said.

Yuan Keli smiled and waved his hand: "But it's okay to say it." ”

Yang He arched his hand and said: "My lord, the students think that the biggest problem in the Ming Dynasty today is the lack of treasury and the lack of fighting spirit in the army. ”

"It seems to be said in these two old man's strategies, right?" Yuan Keli said with a smile.

Yang He said with a smile: "These two questions actually cover many issues, and students think that adults have not analyzed enough in the strategy. ”

"Tell me more." Yuan Keli is colorful.

Yang He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea slowly. Then he said: "My lord, the student will first talk about the problem of the lack of treasury, as far as the students know, the annual tax of the Ming Dynasty is only more than three million taels of silver, which also includes taxes such as salt and tea. My lord. Is that enough money to cover the cost? ”

Yuan Keli smiled and said: "If you just refer to this bit of silver, it will definitely not be enough, but the country still has food, you don't count this." ”

Yang He said with a smile: "The students have calculated that the grain collected by the Ming Dynasty in a year is about 23 million stones, of which nearly half is used for the expenses of the feudal kings in various places, more than 7 million stones are used to distribute the money to local officials, and the remaining part is sent to the capital to pay the officers and soldiers of the Beijing officials and the Beijing camp, and the other part is transported to the border for military rations and soldiers to pay the soldiers. I wonder if what the student said is right? ”

"That's a good point." Yuan Keli nodded.

Yang He said with a smile: "I don't know how many students there are in the border army elsewhere in the Ming Dynasty, but the students know that there are more than 100,000 troops in Liaodong alone, and the military salary of these soldiers is one or three dollars of silver per person per month, which is more than 1.5 million taels a year, and the military food consumes at least more than 1,000 stone per day, and it is nearly 400,000 stone of grain in a year. ”

"It's really not enough, so the old man suggested that the benefits of salt and iron in the world be used to replenish military funds." Yuan Keli said.

"The benefits of salt and iron?" Yang He shook his head and said: "Don't hide it from your lordship, the students have flipped through the history books these days, and the students found that since the previous dynasties, there has never been such a low tax as the Ming Dynasty, let alone such a small commercial tax as the Ming Dynasty." Compared with previous dynasties, the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty was almost negligible. ”

Sighing softly, Yang He continued: "The student flipped through the "History of the Song Dynasty" a few days ago, and specifically checked the taxes during the Song Dynasty, and the students found that even when the Song Dynasty reached a corner of peace in the later period, the annual taxes collected were much higher than those of the Ming Dynasty, and nearly half of the tax sources at the end of the Song Dynasty came from commercial taxes. ”

Yuan Keli nodded silently when he heard this. (To be continued......)